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Re:Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – wha... by jerf on Sunday February 16, 2020 @02:07PM (#22343200)
If this bothers you enough, you may want to seek out a therapist. I don't want to and can't diagnose you over the internet, but certain phrases you use suggest to me there are some elements that they may be able to help you with.

On the self-help front, you may want to pursue mindfulness studies, with an eye towards the sort that helps you interrogate your own mind about why you feel the way you do. You may be surprised where that leads. Studying stoicism or other philosophies around acceptance may also help.

However, let me both open and close with the suggestion that professional help may be worthwhile. I do not mean that in a bad way, but a helpful way. I am all about self-help and independence and learning things and doing my own thing, but there's a limit to how far that can reach and sometimes you need direct external help.

Re:Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – wha... by commandersaki on Sunday February 16, 2020 @02:11PM (#22343220)
I second a therapist. I have had a relatable experience to OP which started off as small gripes with poor design to personal attacks. This became a major factor of full blown mania and I ended up in hospital for months; wouldn't recommend it.

Specifically if you see it as a personal attack, consider looking up "signs of reference". It is a similar concept where you are delusional and believe that written signs are specifically designed and aimed at you.

Re:Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – wha... by throwaway894028 on Sunday February 16, 2020 @04:53PM (#22343972)
> If this bothers you enough, you may want to seek out a therapist.

This is probably good advice, though I am skeptical it would help. I think it would be helpful if you could tell me which elements that they may be able to help me with.

Re:Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – wha... by jerf on Monday February 17, 2020 @11:46AM (#22348881)
I am very reluctant to do that. I am not a therapist, but I know enough to know there's some danger in applying labels to people in this sort of situation willy-nilly. commandersaki was less reluctant, and they did pick up on one of the things I heard, so I guess I'll at least endorse that post from that perspective.

I would actually recommend taking your post as-is to a therapist as a starting session. (I wouldn't bother with the HN conversation itself.) It's a good starting point.

I'd say this... going to see a therapist once is not itself a commitment. If after the first time you don't feel like it's going to help, you will be free to stop. But I do believe there is some significant and true help that you can get from one... even if I am very reluctant to put into words the reasons why I believe that. I apologize for that, but I am trying my best to be helpful, and to not hurt you unnecessarily or out of unprofessional clumsiness.

Re:Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – wha... by barcodedED on Sunday February 16, 2020 @02:08PM (#22343205)
this is correct normal people don't get angry over little things like this
Re:Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – wha... by s1artibartfast on Sunday February 16, 2020 @03:42PM (#22343638)
I think it depends on the topic and intensity. For example, significant anger over poor freeway design and traffic is extremely common and not a sight of a psychological disorder. Same with terrible UI on common apps
Re:Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – wha... by wool_gather on Sunday February 16, 2020 @02:17PM (#22343244)
Anger is one thing; it can even be productive, for example by leading OP to advocate and work for better subway accessibility. It's the taking it personally, and the (OP's word) depression that indicate a problem.